Douglas Slope Explosion

An 1888 explosion in Stellarton’s Albion mine was so loud that it was heard as far away as Pictou. No one was hurt but the noise attracted thousands of people and a reporter travelling by horse-drawn sleigh.

Fire was detected around 9:00 p.m. on January 14, 1888, in the Douglas slope (tunnel) of the Albion coal mine, according to newspaper articles. Several explosions took place. The one that was so loud and powerful that some people thought it was an earthquake took place at 1:30 p.m. on January 15.

Thousands of people were drawn to the mine to see what had happened.

Buildings at surface were destroyed and timber and bricks were scattered for hundreds of yards, according to reports.

Fortunately, no one was killed and injuries to a couple men were minor.

However, a number of people had close calls. For example, according to the Halifax Herald, “fifteen had a hair breath [sic] escape. They were working in the mine building a wall and had just run out of bricks. They all started to leave the mine and the instant they reached surface, an explosion took place. Had they not made their exit when they did, in fact, had they been a moment later, every man would likely have met instantaneous death.”

Dr. Kennedy was treating the wounded at surface when he “had a miraculous escape. He was standing near the slope just five minutes before [another] blast occurred, and had he not moved off when he did he would have been surely killed.”

The pit ponies were rescued from the mine although one was killed at surface when it was struck by a brick and died instantly. (Another report said the horse was struck by a piece of timber.) According to the Halifax Herald, “A number of people were close to the animal and how they escaped is a miracle.”

The mine was sealed to prevent air circulating and feeding the fire. Media coverage on January 16 said about 300 men were going to be unemployed as a result of the mine closing, perhaps permanently. However, the mine’s owner, the Acadia Coal Company, quickly decided to rebuild. A report on January 19 said, “All the miners who were thrown out of work by the explosion in the Albion mine, are again employed.”

The mine was sealed for months to extinguish the flames, and the clean up underground took additional months. The mine’s only production in 1888 was in the first two weeks of the year prior to the incident.

The cause of the Douglas slope explosions was never definitively determined. It was theorized that a fire started in the Cage Pit, which had a number of fires and explosions during the years it operated (1852-1892). The Cage Pit workings were prone to spontaneous combustion, which can happen when coal is exposed to oxygen.

All the early coal mines in Stellarton, including the Albion mine and Cage Pit, were connected to each other underground. This had operational advantages (i.e. additional entrances/exits, air circulation, etc.) but also meant that problems with gas, fires and explosions in one mine could impact others.

Underground connections between the Albion mine and Cage Pit were sealed off during the clean up from the 1888 explosions.

As dangerous as historical coal mines could be – a Government of Nova Scotia database of fatalities in the province’s mines from 1838-1992 suggests there were at least 2,584 deaths in that period - we need to put them in context of how different life was back then in general.

Prior generations had relatively unsophisticated technology and science for everything, as was illustrated by the Halifax Herald’s challenges covering the Douglas slope explosions: “The Herald correspondent on hearing of the accident, secured a sleigh and started for the scene of the calamity by way of East River. After travelling eight miles he had to return on account of the ice [being too thin] in a certain locality. If he had not done so there might have been another drowning accident to chronicle.”

The Herald reporter also struggled to obtain “information of an authentic nature…owing to telegraph operators not being about…But when the telegraph offices were opened, and people learned the true particulars of the affair, their minds became easy, and were thankful that all the men escaped with their lives.”

Horse-drawn sleighs and telegraphs were the level of technology at the time, so it is not surprising that historical miners had less capacity to manage risks and ensure safe workplaces.

Today, Nova Scotia’s mining and quarrying industry has reduced its injury rate by 90% since 1997 and is one of the safer industries in the province. We believe the most important thing to come out of a mine is the miner, and our modern safety record reflects this.

Firefighters posing at the entrance of the Albion Mines a short time after a 1913 fire. The mine owners, the Acadia Coal Company, presented these photos to workers in appreciation for their "loyal efforts" during the fire. Thanks to the Nova Scotia Archives.

Aerial view of the Albion Mines, date unknown.